Utah Rugby Snubbed

by UteinBrooklyn on Jan 22, 2012 4:32 PM MST

This may be old news to some, but I just found out that the Utah Scrummin' Utes rugby team wasn't invited to the 2012 CRC Sevens Invitational. They were the champions of the inaugural event in 2010 beating heavy favorite Cal. Last year they had another strong showing, losing to Army in the semifinals. The reason the Utes weren't invited this year is reminiscent of the BCS.

CRC tournament director Donal Walsh explained it this way:

Walsh: It was extremely tough to leave Utah out. They have always been an exciting team and a great brand. But one of our criteria is how the schools endeavor to get fans out to the stadium. Over the course of two years we’ve worked with Utah in terms of getting alumni support and university support. It wasn’t as forthcoming as they would have liked to see.

Utah fans should write an email to Mr. Walsh and his cohorts and let them know that we are civilized, knowledgable, supportive, and passionate fans. Utah has had one of the best rugby teams in the country for the past decade and one of the best high school participation rates anywhere.

Here is a link to contact them. Be civil. Be respectful. Sound intelligent if you do decide to write. But let's show them some numbers.

http://usasevenscrc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=75

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Comments

wow. that's a total joke

by khaostheory117 on Jan 22, 2012 10:14 PM MST reply actions

Ridiculous, how can you not include a reigning champion? Pathetic!

by NC Ute on Jan 23, 2012 8:54 AM MST reply actions

Here is the Q & A with Walsh

Pretty bad.

http://rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2750%3Afans-tv-and-picking-teams-a-qaa-on-the-crc&catid=73%3Acollegiate-sevens&Itemid=91

by UteinBrooklyn on Jan 23, 2012 12:13 PM MST reply actions

Unreal

As a former player and huge fan, I am outraged. How can you claim to be the national championship and not invite the best teams in the country? Looks like that only thing they wanted was to include a bunch of east coast teams (and not even the best east coast teams) to try to fill the venue. I understand that at the end of the day this is a business (rugby is not a NCAA sport), but if the only point is to make money, don’t claim to be something you are not.

by Fat Kid from The Hill on Jan 23, 2012 2:42 PM MST reply actions

Rugby will blow up in America within 25 years, like soccer recently has.

Yeah Fat Kid, I was hoping some rugby players would see the post. I never played rugby, but know that you guys are a passionate bunch and that Utah from the high school level develops talent. Utah is a unique state in that regard.

I hope you’ll pass the word along to your rugby brethren, coaches, etc. Rugby is, from what I understand, the third most popular spectator sport in the world behind soccer and basketball. It is a matter of time before it blows up in the States.

With TV and the fast paced Sevens format, it could happen soon. And just like multi-level marketing that is successful, you to want to get in at the beginning. If Utah gets squeezed out of the process now, it will be more difficult to capitalize down the road.

Utah already has a good base that just needs to be organized and galvanized. A former player with those connections in place could help.

by UteinBrooklyn on Jan 23, 2012 8:37 PM MST reply actions

A travesty to be sure

I didn’t know anything about Rugby til I started seeing the international 7’s tournaments last year. They got me interested since they’re shorter, less people, and easier to keep track of what’s going on, now I’m a Rugby fan. I know several people with the same story.

Hopefully we’ll win the Vegas one and win our way into it. But still…

by StarcraftLovinUte on Jan 24, 2012 1:49 PM MST reply actions